TWO men accused of blasting three other men with a shotgun during a car chase through Canvey mocked social media speculation about the incident the following day, a court heard.

Connall Regan, 22, of Thames Road, Canvey, and Callum Hutchins, 20, of Mornington Road, are on trial for the attempted murder of William Tatham, Reece Johnson, and a man known only as Woody during the early hours of August 6.

At least five shots were fired at a Volkswagen Golf, with Woody behind the wheel, by a man being driven in a Ford S-Max.

Hutchins is alleged to have been the driver while Regan is alleged to have been the shooter.

Gerard Pounder, prosecuting, said in his closing speech that both men changed their phones the following day but text messages between the pair discussed the attack.

Referring to posts on Facebook suggesting the high-profile incident involved Regan shooting Hutchins, one of the texts said: “Will was the shooter lol.” Another said: “And it’s us who are in hospital lol.”

Mr Pounder asked the jury to consider why the pair, who had been seen together earlier that evening, stopped texting while the incident was taking place.

He said: “While some men can multi-task it’s particularly difficult to shoot and text and call at the same time.”

Both men deny any involvement and say that after being shot by unknown assailants Mr Tatham tried to opportunistically frame Regan because of a family feud.

However, Mr Pounder said of Tatham: “It is somewhat Machiavellian. You have seen Mr Tathum. Do you think he has the presence of mind to think like that?”

The jury are set to be sent out to deliberate today.